Best Buy in Columbia Heights to Close?

Could be among the 50 stores that Best Buy plans to shutter

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A call to the Columbia Heights Best Buy yielded that classic statement, "No comment."

Updated at 2:23 PM EDT on Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012

Best Buy announced back March 29 that it plans to close 50 of its big box stores. Now rumors are popping up that the Columbia Heights location is on the chopping block, although the company has not confirmed that.

Prince of Petworth wrote Wednesday morning: "While the list of stores had not been released, a reader shares some scuttlebutt that Columbia Heights' location in DC USA (14th and Irving St, NW) is on the list."

Our call to the store received a "no comment" from a manager. However, the company has confirmed that the first locations to close will be five stores in the Twin Cities area, and one in the San Antonio area.

"We will announce details about additional, specific store locations and timing for closings as they are finalized," the company's statement read in part.

A list of upcoming closures from an anonymous employee (translation: take this with a big grain of salt) also indicated the Columbia Heights location could be on its way out. The Tenleytown outpost isn't on that list, nor are any Maryland or Virginia stores.

These rumors come just a day after Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn resigned. The company had launched an internal investigation into Dunn's "personal conduct," the Huffington Post and other media outlets reported.

In the wake of the big-box closures, Best Buy says it's planning to open 100 smaller and (in theory) more profitable Best Buy Mobile stores throughout the country, the Associated Press reported last month. Locally, there are Best Buy Mobile stores in Silver Spring and Hyattsville.

"We will be working to help the employees affected by these closings to find other positions inside Best Buy," the company said in its statement. "If they don’t find new positions, or if they choose not to work at a different location, a transition including severance packages will be available once the stores close later this year."